Dutch Turks can now vote in Turkish presidential referendum

Some 250,000 Dutch Turks are eligible to vote in a Turkish referendum aimed at giving more power to president Recep Tayyip Erdogan from today.

People of Turkish origin in the Netherlands are automatically given Turkish nationality when they are born, and that includes voting rights.

Voting will take place in the Netherlands – at special polling stations in Amsterdam, The Hague and Deventer – until Sunday. The main referendum in Turkey itself takes place on April 16.

The run up to the referendum lead to riots in Rotterdam after the Netherlands refused to allow two Turkish ministers to address campaign rallies in favour of the referendum. The two countries have since been embroiled in a diplomatic row.

Turkey has since suspended high level contacts with the Netherlands.

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